A queen with a cause

Crowned Miss South Africa 2025, Qhawekazi Mazaleni is using her platform to spotlight speech therapy, literacy and the power of communication

- Kibo Ngowi

Crowning glory: This year's Miss South Africa Qhawekazi Mazaleni.

(Photo: Indirect Media)

When Qhawekazi Mazaleni was crowned Miss South Africa at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria on 25 October, she felt a mix of nerves and gratitude.

“It was the nerves of knowing I'd been leading up to this moment for so long,” she says.

“But also the excitement of being on stage, feeling the energy in the arena and knowing I had really just shared my entire heart and what I'm passionate about with South Africa.

“When the crown was placed on my head, it went silent for a bit — and then I came back to myself and just felt this deep gratitude, the tears and the joy of it all.”

The 24-year-old from Gonubie, East London, had her family in the audience that night: her parents, aunt and two sisters. One of them, she proudly notes, knows the Miss South Africa journey all too well.

“My sister had done Miss South Africa in 2023 and made it into the top five,” Mazaleni says.

“She’s been in my corner the entire time. Having someone who had gone through the process made such a difference, especially with the emotional prep work. People don’t realise how much it takes emotionally, but she was able to support me through the tough moments.”

Mazaleni holds a degree in speech, language and hearing therapy from Stellenbosch University and is completing her master’s in speech-language pathology at the University of Pretoria, specialising in autism.

Her path to this field was not straightforward.

“When I was younger, I didn’t even know what a speech therapist was,” she laughs. “I initially wanted to go into marketing, but I realised I'm not someone who does well sitting in an office the entire day.

“I wanted to be creative and work with people. So, I started researching different careers and that’s when I discovered speech therapy.”